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Banahaw Blaze Causes Extensive Damage to FPE Priority Site

The forest fire atop Mt. Banahaw as seen last Wednesday night. (Photo by Jerome Quejano, via Inquirer.net)

A large-scale forest fire broke out on the western slope of Mt. Banahaw facing Sariaya, Quezon, last Wednesday evening, March 19, 2014. The resulting damage covered an area of at least 50 hectares, implying extensive damage to the area's populations of endangered plants and animals.

While yet to be confirmed, the blaze is strongly believed to have been caused by man-made activity. Initial reports claim candles lit by pilgrims were the cause, while later reports pin the blame on backpackers. Regardless, the culprit behind the incident is certain to have ignored the currently imposed ban on trekking on the site.

Mt. Banahaw is part Mts. Banahaw and San Cristobal Protected Landscape (MBSCPL),a nationally-sanctioned protected area and one of FPE's priority conservation sites. The Foundation had previously been involved in a just-concluded 60-hectare reforestation project, as well as environmental constituency-building efforts there. The latter aimed to establish a social fence against threats to the site's biodiversity, which includes various endemic species, including a cloud rat which had just been discovered in 2004. 

Mt. Banahaw is supposedly closed to trekkers until early 2016 to provide for the forest's regeneration. The trekking ban has been in effect since 2004.

In a statement shared with Agence France-Presse, FPE Project Officer Aivan Herzano that despite access restrictions, forest rangers still lack the capacity to monitor all incidents of illegal entry into the protected area.

Efforts are currently being made to assess the full extent of the damage caused by the blaze, which happened barely a day after another fire went off on Mt. San Cristobal. Last Tuesday, March 18, 2014, a grass fire allegedly caused by "reckless honey bee collectors" affected an estimated 10 hectares of cogon, as well as parts of a reforestation project.

Based on reports from Inquirer.net, Philstar.com, MB.com.ph, Rappler.com, and Interaksyon.com.